Gods of the new world
by ChronicleKnight
Summary: Set in post-game. The game has been won, at a great cost, but their perfect universe isn't as perfect as it seems. The gods of the new universe must save what they have created before they loose the only universe they have left.


God of the new world

chapter 1 - pilot

"Stuff 'em in! Make him fit!" The small crowd gathered around one certain boy, who's lunch money they had stolen and glasses, broken, as they attempted to fit the sixteen year old into a locker.

He, of course, had been through this enough times to know not to resist. Resistance was futile, in more than one way. He also knew better than to give them what they wanted - a struggle. The young man closed his eyes as walls of the empty locker closed in around him, his only escape slammed shut, accompanied by laughter.

Or at least, it would have been. The laughter stopped, and the metallic bang of the locker closing never came. Instead, the metal door met a firm hand. Slowly, the bullies backed away, and the locker opened with a warm light, a shadowy outline standing in the opening. The figure reached in to help the young man, the light from the window on other side of the hall reflecting off his round glasses "Hey man, you ok?"

Looking up, the young man took the hand offered to him with a small, buck-toothed smile "Yeah, thanks." He stepped out of the locker, taking a deep breath as he took in his surroundings.

The boy to help him out of his locker was Dave Strider, notorious cool kid. The bullies had been scared away by his brother, Dirk Strider, while their sisters, Rose and Roxy Lalonde, dispersed the crowd. That family was a strange bunch; you weren't really sure why they took separate last names. Most people just went with it, even though everyone knew they were all siblings.

There was an even stranger case of siblings in the school, in the case of Jade Harley, Jane Crocker, and Jake english. Now there was a rag tag family. Those three were being held back by Roxy as rose handed him some painkillers.

He squinted, adjusting his glasses, a web of cracks splintered across his vision, among various pervious scratches. He'd have to get a new pair. "Thanks, Rose." He smiled gratefully, swallowing them.

Her eyes narrowed, just enough that the average person wouldn't have noticed, her eyebrows raising "I don't believe I've told you my name..."

The young man shrugged "You're sort of popular you know."

Rose's eyes narrowed further as she examined the young man curiously "Have we.. Met before?"

"I-I'm gonna be late to my next class.." He gathered his books quickly, sloppily, assuring them he was ok as he dismissed himself, scurrying off into the crowd.

Rose put the pill bottle back in her purple purse, the students dispersing and heading to their next class, the older of the kids among them. But three remained in the hall. Rose brought her hand to her mouth in a scholarly pose, deep in thought.

"Rose, what's the matter?" Jade asked, her fluffy white ears shifting under her green beanie "is something wrong? Is it the imps?"

The seven children had spent a good portion of their time in their new universe hunting imps down as they terrorized the world, becoming the monsters of ancient legends, and they, the gods of myth.

"That boy.. When I asked if we had met, he ignored my question.." She looked towards the direction the boy had left.

"Do you think he's a troll?" Dave asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"No." Jade shook her head "I sensed something off about him too, but he's defiantly human." She looked down, frowning "I can't.. My powers don't tell me anything about him though. Like a page torn out in a book." She looked back up "Dave, Rose, do you know his name?"

Dave looked in the same direction as rose, a soft breeze from the open windows blowing all their clothes "I think those guys said his name was John."

Jade's eyes lit up like a match, widening, her ears perking up "John Egbert."

* * *

><p>The night was warm, one of summers last breaths as fall settled in, and a new school year along with it. In their past lives, some of the kids had not had the luxury of going to school - though, to be fair, they were all brilliant in their own right. Now, the kids went to school out of boredom, for even god shot bored.<p>

By some chance, Jade and dave had managed to breed a universe nearly identical to the one from which they came. Even so, something seemed off about it - maybe it was just the kids, as it held aspects of both versions of the earth the group came from.

The gods stood, high above the city on the roof of the apartment in which Dave and Dirk had taken residence. They had looked for days until they had found one similar enough to their old one, though Dirk still wasn't used to the idea of other buildings around it.

"John Egbert?" Jane repeated, putting her hands on her hips, "I haven't seen him in the school records." In her spare time, when she wasn't showing up the cooking teacher, Jane worked in the office running errands for the secretary.

"Maybe he just transferred in. It's only the third week of school." Jake said as he began loading his pistols, captchaloging extra ammo. "Besides, he seemed nice enough."

"The only things Jade can't get a read on are trolls and carapaceans. Considering we've gotten the trolls back to new Alternia already, and he doesn't look like a carapacean, that leaves him as one thing." Dirk crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Jane rolled her eyes

"A glitch." Dirk walked over to the south side of the rooftop, his princely pajamas appearing, and unsheathed the katana at his waist "A threat." His tone left no room for conversation, and with a quick nod to Jake, he jumped over the rooftop. Jake smiled apologetically, strapping his pistols at his hips as his page outfit appeared, quickly following after Dirk.

Roxy frowned, looking down "Hey.. do u guys rly think this kid's a threat?"

Dave uncaptchaloged caldafwitch, adjusting his sunglasses "Whatever man, as long as he doesn't cause any harm." Dave and Jade's changed into their God tiers, before going off the north side of the roof.

Rose put a hand on her sister-mom-daughter's shoulder reassuringly "As curious as I am about this boy, maybe it's for the best if we let him be." She smiled softly "And as intrigued as you are, you should know better by now than to get attached to mortals." Stepping past Roxy, Rose took off the east side of the roof.

With a reassuring hand squeeze from Jane, they jumped off the west side of the roof, flying against the warm sun on their daily after school imp patrol.

Line break

"So." Dave's sunglasses protected him from the wind as he and Jade flew from building to building, balcony to balcony, carefully observing the streets below "Tell me about John Egbert."

Jade rolled her eyes, her hair pushed back by the wind, her hood down, revealing her perky white dog ears, which pressed down against her head as she frowned "His name. That's all I could find in my stupid 'omnipotent' knowledge." They slowed down, resting on a balcony that overlooked a busy street. "Which is even more concerning."

Dave arched an eyebrow "huh? Why's that?"

"Because the knowledge I gained from bec only covered things from the last universe. Our universe."

"So what your saying is-"

"He shouldn't be here, Dave." Her glasses reflected the afternoon sun, sighing "That's all I know."

Dave nodded, refraining from asking more questions. He believed her, and to pester her further would only make her angry. His ruby eyes scanned the crowd below. Just as they were about to move on, already in the air, there was an explosion from the east.

"Rose!" Jade yelled worriedly, and they were off.

* * *

><p>John Egbert was not having a good day.<p>

First, he had run into his friends at school. Ok, yeah that sounded like a good thing, but it wasn't. He wasn't canon anymore. He wasn't supposed to exist. And in his endless transporting through dimensions, he had gotten stuck in one in particular. Theirs'.

Even worse, Rose had recognized him. Well he didn't know that for sure, but she might have. At the price of winning up the game, he had given up.. Well, he had given up himself. They would forget about him as soon as they entered their universe.

And they almost did.

He couldn't actually _erase _their memory. More like.. Suppress it. It was their, just bundled up tight. Reeaaal tight. And it would stay that way as long as they didn't remember him.

If they did, well..

Yeah, he'd get his friends back, but he also might bring the apocalypse. Dave had assured them that sburb or any version of it wouldn't exist in this new world, but that didn't mean it wouldn't be back to haunt them.

The powers of his ultimate weapon had stopped working. Or maybe jammed was the right word? They were there, just.. not. Yeah, that sounded about right. That meant he couldn't do his fairy-godmother-maid thing where he went around and tidied up the alpha timeline.

He also knew that there was definitely something wrong with this town in particular. He had noticed it upon his arrival. When he entered the town borders, it felt like he had been shocked, like his stomach turned upside down. He should have stopped, but went in anyways.

And now, he would explore that cause. Flying would be out of the question - besides, this town already had their own set of super heroes. His friends had taken to using their powers to fight local crime in their silly pajamas. Even the newspapers called them 'The Gods'! They were, officially, straight out of the animes.

He walked east along the main road from the school, using the time to map his surroundings in his head. He had always easily gotten lost. It was a hike to the city borers, but he had all the time in the world.

As he walked, his mind unfocused, and began wondering about the consequences of their meeting today. As much as he wanted to stay with his friends and make them remember him, he knew he would have to leave. Maybe he should eat first.. no, starvation isn't heroic or just, so he'd be fine. He was short on cash anyways, and restaurants didn't exactly accept grist as payment.

Maybe if he explained his situation.. poor homeless child... he would just get turned over to child services. Damn why was this so hard? He just wanted food.. He sighed, shoving his hands in the pockets of his green jacket, looking up. He should just fly.. Maybe no one will notice..

Looking over his shoulder, across the rather unbusy street and back again, he made sure no one noticed as he slipped into the next ally he came across. He cracked his knuckles, stretching his arms across his chest and muttering to himself "haven't had a chance to wear these in a while.." With a soft glow and a small gust of wind, he changed into his God tier uniform, an action that would not go unnoticed by the small children behind the dumpster in the ally.

The littlest one, a boy with freckles and bucked teeth, gasped, only for his elder sister to clamp her hand over his mouth.

John jumped - he had been sure he was alone! - before turning to greet the kids with a small smile and a wave, and began floating up. Maybe the kids would think it was a weird dream..

"Wait!" The little boy ran out, grasping at john's long hood, which had pooled on the ground behind him. John gagged, and flew back to the ground, tugging his hood from the young child with a very unamused expression. The boy only smiled "Are you a superhero?"

John's eyes widened. "A superhero, huh?" He kneeled down, grabbing the boy's hand and gently unfolding the small fingers as he retrieved the hood with a sad smile "I like to think that sometimes.."

"What's your name, mister superhero?" The boy said in awe, allowing the hood to be taken from him.

John laughed "My name? Funny you ask.." He looked up in thought "My name.." He smiled "How about Ghostly Trickster?"

The boy shook his head with a firm "no", grasping the hood tighter.

"Ok ok fine. How about Ectobiologist?" Another firm denial "hmm..." John looked down at his shirt, at the hood in the boy's hand "what about.. Heir of Breath?"

The boy's eyes widened in sudden realization "you mean like da gods?"

John smiled "exactly."

The sister suddenly ran out from her hiding spot, grabbing her brother's wrist and pulling him away "Get away from my brother you monster!" With a bit of force, she was able to get her little brother away "Danny, you know better!" Her bright blue eyes glared into John's own "All the gods ever bring is sorrow! We don't need another one!"

John stood, stepping towards the children, who in turn stepped back "Wait, I don't get it. They're the good guys..! My friends wouldn't-"

"John Egbert." A figure stepped into the alley, the light from the city behind them turning them into an outline "It has been so long, though it was only a matter of time until your arrival. I knew, of course, that like all good things, your plan would eventually come to an end." Their was a click of a pistol, and the two children scurried back to their hiding spot - a moment to late.

"Now that the observers are out of the way, allow me to reintroduce myself." If John was not staring in horror at the horribly-precise bullet holes between each child's eyes, he would have made out the gleaming emerald eyes and snowy white hair of the shooter "My name is Doctor Scratch, and I have a mission that I simply will not allow you to prevent."

John's eyes snapped up, looking down the barrel of a silver pistol, barely able to make out the small white Cueball inside

"SCRATCH!" A figure slid into an alley, golden robes floating around them as they readied their needle wands, already glowing with magic as they pointed their dark energy toward the omnipotent man. John heard the click of the pistol and the crash of an explosion before the world darkened.

* * *

><p>"Well, shit." Dave nudged the blue clad figure with his foot "The felt again, huh?" Rose was sending out a message of warning to the others while Jade created a small hole in the alley for the two children, bangs casting a shadow over her eyes. She turned a little dirt into a large patch of fertile grass and flowers, laying a rock.<p>

"Perhaps the real tragedy was the fact that no one will miss them.." Rose mused, sending out the lengthy essay she had typed on felt shenanigans and members.

"Ok yeah more dead orphans. Classic felt mob. But what about this dude?"

"What about him?" Jade growled, her pointed teeth clenched "Why is he any different from these two? How many more graves do I have to make?" Rose placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her into a hug. Over their centuries on this planet, the gods had fought in countless wars, for both sides, their internal fights even ultimately resulting in the deaths of millions. It had taken a toll on the young ancient, as she and Roxy were always tasked with rebuilding their destruction, but her more so.

"Because," Dave watched the shallow rise and fall of the blue figure's chest, his face hidden under the large blue hood which had respectfully been pulled over his face "This dude's alive."

* * *

><p>John forgot how much dying hurt.<p>

It had been a while since the last time he died. It had been an accident - a fight with a guy in this universe's version of Rome. He had pranked this one merchant - he was going to pay! - but ended up dead one way or another anyways.

How had he died this time? He couldn't remember.. Why was it so fuzzy? He'd give opening his eyes a shot.. and _damn_ was it bright out. He put his hand on his face, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, before wincing, body aching. Especially his head. His fingers traced up from his eyes to his forehead, resting over the center. "Scratch.." He muttered as the events leading to his death came back to him, eyes shooting open, accompanied by a roaring headache.

"Dirk!" Jade yelled angrily, her friends shouting his name in protest. Blue eyes opened, gaze shifting to the left, looking down the blade of a shiny katana, squinting at the silver light.

"I don't know who you are, I don't know where you came from. You got shot in the head, and the first thing you say when you wake up from the dead is 'Scratch'." Orange eyes narrowed behind pointy shades, expression otherwise blank "Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you."

"Because..." John looked around the room, vision blurry without his glasses, but able to make out his friends and their parent-children. Wincing as his brain pounded against his skull, his hand fell from his face. Damnit! He needed to get out of here.. But all of his friends were surrounding him, with mixed expressions from concern to caution, and sleep was tugging at him again.

"Because.. I'm not evil, and.. I'm not a hero.." Even blurry, he could see how his words had hurt Dave. If that didn't convince him, nothing will. The younger strider jumped forward, shouting at his brother, his words of defense lost as John drifted back into unconsciousness. Maybe he could stay, just a little while longer..

And when he woke up, he knew there would be hell to pay for his selfishness.

It would be worth it.

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><p>Please leave a review :)<p> 


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